Old Enough to Die

Old Enough to Die by Wills, Ridley, II. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781881576815.

Ridley Wills II tells the story of the Bostick family -- four brother, their sisters and mother, plus several in-laws and first cousins -- primarily through their letters, with background on what was happening in the family in the larger world of American history. The letters printed in the book come from the family of Irene Jackson Wills, wife of the author. The book does not deal with sweeping philosophical questions about history or morality, but with what happened to ordinary people who were caught up in the War Between the States and the events surrounding it. Both men and women in the family were participants in and victims of the war, and their reactions to their cruel fate draw the reader into their lives in a way that ordinary histories do not. Old Enough to Die is a fascinating story about a southern family, their lives, their devotion to the South, and their conviction that what they were doing was right.